IPR?"^ - 



1861 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMEK. 



259 



ghelter fri m the bUak -wi^d:) in a slioit time, but 

 also material for farm purposes, or to be more 

 explicit, 



" In summer ph;ifJe, 

 In winter fire " 



We wruld not place it. in advance of our gilv r 

 leaf maple, but for a cheap, quick jrrrwth stiel 

 ter it is among the most valuable that we have 

 gefn. and when we take into aocouiit that the 

 cuttings are sold >it tie h w rate of three dollars 

 a thou.'-and and that the iree will grow on high 

 or low prairie, certainly no farmtr need lon;ier 

 "o have his buildings and bouse grounds t-tand 

 out unprotected Irt-m the keen wsnds of winter. 

 A belt of these willows guaid au 



ARTIFiClAL FISH POND, 



Fifty by one hundred feet scoi ped outcf alow 

 place in ilie prairie, and which is supplied with 

 water from the mo'e drains, running through the 

 depressions of the prairie swells. The pond is 

 six feet deep and stocked with cat-fish, some of 

 which are n"W fiiteen inches long — bass, silver- 

 siJes, perch and horse-fish. The Messrs. 0. & 

 M. are large growers of Osage plants, fif.y acres 

 of which they have in fine order. The seeds — 

 forty bushels — were soaked in this pond for sev- 

 eral weeks, and planted at the time of sprouting. 

 Thous:uds of our praiiie farms can have.iust as 

 good pcnds witli a trifling outlay, and which wil[ 

 at the same time furn.th au abundant supply of 

 water. Until we saw this pond we had no idea 

 that such a luxury Cuuld be had upon our own 

 farm, but now we are positive that it is of easy 

 attainment and the thing must be d'^^ne. The 

 earth must be either wheeled or hauled out, and 

 this must be done in winter or other leisure time; 

 a small hand pump will be needed to keep the 

 water out while excavating the pond. 



OSAGE HEDGE. 



To Messrs. 0. & M. much is due for the intro- 

 duction of the Osage for hedging. They have 

 grown l\rge quantities of the plants, at the same 

 time thpy, like others, did not fully understand 

 the habit of the plant, and hedging made poor 

 pri gress, and most h-^dges have been turned out 

 n bad order, but now it is better understood and 

 we hav- p mH fine hedges. They are now pursu- 

 ing the plan laid down by us three years since : 

 that is to plant '•lose, say four inches apart in a 

 single line thoroughly cultivated for two years 

 without cutting back, and then to cut to the 

 ground, when the hedge will be ready to turnout 

 in two years more. It can then be trimmed or j 



not, just to stiit the fancy of the o^oner. Wo 

 saw a fine helge set in June, of plants letiirned 

 to them as worthless. These were snaked in the 

 pond for a week and then set out, and the b<dgo 

 stands as pretty as any that we have f^e^n. We 

 mention this t> show the value of soakins the 

 plants before setting, w' en they have become 

 pariial'y shriveled by long exposure in shipping. 

 Had these plants been set after their retun with- 

 out this precaution, few of them would have 

 grown. As it is, they will in four years, make a 

 fine hedge, and at a cost, we think, of less thaa 

 fifty cents the rod. 



SOKUEiL ON STRAWBEERT; BEDS. 



Mr. 0. called our attention to the sorrel that 

 had been recnived amo- g his strawberry plants, 

 and which would in a short time ruin the beds 

 He considers it the wor^t weed that we. have for 

 this crop, and would warn all planters to guard 

 against its introduction. On new land it grows 

 with great vigor and will soon run out the jlants. 



THE DIOSCORA BATATTIS. 



Three years since they set out three thousand 

 cuttings of this plant, nearly all of which grew. 

 They are nearly h irdy, killing back but little. — 

 at the end of two years they are dug, when the 

 roots are of fair size, but of little value for food. 



THE LAWTON BLACKBERRY, 



Here, it is pretty well loaded with fruit, though 

 not protected, with slight shelter it promises to be 

 valuable. 



THE ORCHARD 



Is trained with heads three to four feet from 

 the ground and is located on a northern slope, 

 but it is yet too young for bearing. The whole 

 grounds are new, say four to five years, and con- 

 tain over two hundred acres, which in a few 

 years tciii be one of the establishments of which 

 Illinoisians will be proud. 



TIMBER BELTS. 



Soon after dinner Mr. 0. gave us a ride be- 

 hind hie mules to the farm of Mr. Osborn Bar- 

 nard. On the way we passed the farm of Mr. 

 J. H. Fell, who is well known for his interest in 

 tree planting. For timber belts he uses the sil- 

 ver leaf maple, and sets them in rows eight feet 

 apart each way ; three of these rows mike a 

 good belt, and occupy on forty acres of land four 

 acres ; but this land is not lost, as by planting 

 eight feet he will have a good growth of blue 

 grass for winter feed for his stock, or he ceB 



